


Between a Rock and Rose

by bikingpaladin



Series: RWBY Inktober-Inspired Series [6]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Derogatory Language, F/F, Polyamory Mention, Rough Kissing, Swearing, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 10:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23849929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bikingpaladin/pseuds/bikingpaladin
Summary: Rosebird Angst fic exploring what Summer Rose's last conversation to Raven Branwen might have been.
Relationships: Raven Branwen/Summer Rose
Series: RWBY Inktober-Inspired Series [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676704
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Between a Rock and Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Volume 5, episode 11 "The More the Merrier," Volume 7, episode 11 "Gravity," and Yang's dialogue in different parts of Volume 6. I decided for this fic, Summer Rose's semblance is similar to Ruby's.

“What the hell, Raven?”

Raven Branwen rolled her eyes as Summer Rose stormed into the tent. In theory, Summer should have not been able to track Raven down, but in practice, Raven suspected it hadn’t been nearly as hard as she’d intended it to be. Despite having found the most secluded possible spot in all of Anima for the Branwen Tribe to camp, Raven could _not_ get some of these idiots to shut the fuck up about where it was. It’s like it got their rocks off when they bragged to their townie hookups about their “ultra secret camp coordinates.” Well it can’t be a secret if none of these morons can clap their jaws shut, that’s for sure. Maybe if she beat some sense into them next time she caught someone flapping their lips...

“Leave. I told you, I’m not with Ozpin anymore.” Raven said.

She couldn’t bring herself to add “or a part of Team STRQ.” It would just be like Summer to go ballistic if Raven did, so it was probably safer to leave that part unsaid.

Summer would probably still pick up on the words unspoken - it would be just like her.

Summer demanded, “Not until you tell me why.”

Raven scoffed and stomped away from her still-warm tea to stare at the open forest. Summer, true to herself as ever, briskly cut Raven off and forced Raven to look at her.

Summer’s eyes were never easy for Raven to look into, even when they weren’t arguing. It was something about their silver color that made them honest mirrors of the soul. Raven would never admit it, not even to herself, but she couldn’t recognize herself in her reflection.

“Why, Raven?” Summer implored. “You have a daughter - you have your husband, your brother, your entire life is back in Vale. Why would you just abandon your responsibilities and leave?”

Raven wanted to offer an excuse that she felt the need to go back to her roots and rejoin the Branwen Tribe, but Summer would call bullshit without a moment’s hesitation. It wouldn’t go well to have the tribe in the hearing range of someone loudly questioning Raven’s loyalty and see Summer not get shot for it.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Raven said.

Raven internally groaned at herself. Terrible statement to use - Summer was a master of leaping at vague axioms and refusing to automatically accept that some things should just be assumed to be true - nothing more of it. Raven should have just tried feeding Summer some bullshit first - probably would have been more effective, or at the very least, slowed Summer down - not that there was very much of that.

There was very little in the world that slowed Summer Rose down.

Summer scoffed. “And why wouldn’t I? Is it Salem? Did she threaten you? Because if she did, you know that we have your back, and we can take her down...”

“We can’t stop Salem, Summer!” Raven exploded.

Summer hesitated. It had been a long, long time since Raven Branwen had stunned Summer Rose into silence.

Raven, taking the moment to speak, continued, “Do you actually want to know why I left, Summer? Why the spring maiden fled? It’s because we snuck down into the vault with Professor Lionheart and used the lamp!”

“You...you used the lamp? But Ozpin said all of the questions had been used...” Summer said.

Raven roared, “He **LIED.** ”

“What did you ask?” Summer asked.

Raven went silent.

Summer demanded, “What did you ask the lamp, Raven?”

“I didn’t ask - Professor Lionheart asked.” Raven said.

Summer gestured a “go on.”

Raven sighed. “He asked ‘how do we kill Salem?’ And I saw, Summer - I saw who Salem really is. Jinn told us that Salem can’t be killed, can’t be stopped - that Ozpin was told this, and that he decided to hide it from us, lie to us...”

“And that’s why you ran?” Summer asked.

Raven said, “No. I already figured that Salem couldn’t be defeated. If she could, then Ozpin surely would have done so a long time ago. No, the reason I left was because it was the last straw. I told that old fool no more secrets, no more half-truths, and especially no more lies. And Jinn showed me just how much he was keeping from us. I cannot believe how much my eyes have been opened with just this one question - and imagine - what if we used the other questions, Summer? Imagine how much we could learn from it...”

“No. The lamp is too dangerous to be used. Ozpin locked it under the academies for a reason, same as the other relics. I just...come back home, Raven.” Summer begged.

Raven looked at Summer. Summer’s silver eyes shone with hope, the virtue that most eluded Raven, and because of this, the virtue that Raven despised more than any other.

Hope was an illusion for the weak. And Raven wasn’t weak. Raven Branwen was strength incarnate.

Raven said, “There’s no point. Not if Salem can’t be killed, Summer. I’m no fool and I won’t be one, not for anyone.”

“Who cares if Salem can’t be killed?! We can stop her, Raven. We have to do it together. We’ll have a better chance if we try together. Work with us, Raven. Please.”

Summer stepped close, like she always did when she wanted to kiss, and Raven was tempted to forget about the world as the two of them would embrace each other, just like they did before so many times ago.

Taiyang had been a welcome addition to their relationship and Summer had been nothing but supportive when Raven gave birth to a child - but Raven had ended things with both of them when she had left Vale. She couldn’t just give in to the temptation to kiss Summer again... red eyes longed to dip into Summer’s silver eyes and ponder their depths, but Raven looked away, finding Summer’s gaze too powerful to look at right now.

“Come back, Raven.” Summer begged.

Raven stiffened.

She wasn’t going to die to an enemy that couldn’t be defeated. There was no strength to be found in pointless martyrdom.

Raven said, “Not even for you will I ever be a fool again.”

Raven burst into a shape of black feathers and began to fly. To her anger, a cloud of rose petals was following her.

Raven squawked and fled through the forest, ducking every tree branch and cutting close to every jagged rock. But despite her speed, despite her will, Summer caught up to Raven, and tackled her to the ground. Summer pressed Raven against a large rock.

Unable to resist, Raven grabbed Summer at the base of her neck and kissed her lips. Summer bit Raven’s bottom lip until she drew blood and the two furiously caressed each other until they had to part for air.

“Raven, your team needs you. We can’t defeat Salem alone.” Summer said, panting, a drop of Raven’s blood still on her tongue.

Raven gritted her teeth. She was not a part of Team STRQ. If they needed her, then tough luck.

Raven growled, “We can’t defeat Salem at all - no matter how many numbers we have, not even if we reunited the whole world! What is one person against someone like her, Summer? There’s no point in trying to persuade me to join you. You can’t defeat Salem.”

“One person can make a difference.” Summer said.

Raven said, “Can not.”

“Raven Branwen. One person is all it takes to change things. And if you won’t stand with me, then I’ll stand up to Salem alone. Because she can be stopped, no matter what you think that Jinn said as absolute truth, and I know I can defeat Salem, even if it is just by myself.” Summer said.

Raven said, “You’re a fool. Going around saying such things without having all the knowledge, all the facts... how could you possibly think you’re strong enough to kill a monster like her?”

“I don’t need her to die, Raven. I just need to petrify her, or convince her to back down, or agree to come back to the side of humanity.” Summer said.

Raven said, “She’ll never help us. She hates humanity and you’re a fool for thinking you can just persuade her to change her ways.”

“Everyone is born innocent, Raven. She wasn’t always a monster. Weren’t you innocent once - we can always reach down and find our inner purity...” Summer said.

Raven said, “I may have been born pure, but I’ve become so far from that there’s no way I’m ever turning around - you can’t persuade me to come back and help Ozpin on his foolish, doomed quest - and you can’t stop Salem.”

“Can too.” Summer said.

Raven watched as Summer burst into rose petals and began to fly away. Not one to let Summer have the last word, Raven launched herself at Summer, and pushed her out of rose petal form onto the ground, slamming the two of them against an old oak tree with the charred remains of a rose bush at its base.

Raven screamed, “Why? Why would you go and get yourself killed confronting her?”

“I can stop her, Raven. And I’m going to do it without Tai, without Qrow - and most of all, without you.” Summer said.

Summer burst into rose petals once more and was gone in the wind.

Raven watched the space where Summer had once been, but she could make no more sense of someone who was no longer even present. Wordlessly, Raven put on a white mask, and vowed to stay out of things forevermore.

**Author's Note:**

> My current plan is to do a different pairing for each story in this series. I went searching through RWBY Inktober prompt lists to get some inspiration.  
> Inktober Prompt List: https://twitter.com/LectraArt/status/1177946049769562112


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